Fucking Velrir. We trained together as young soldiers. He never got over the severe beating I gave him on our second day, and I never got over what a foul bully he was. But his sensic power allows him to rifle through people’s recent memories, and of course, that makes him an extremely useful tool to mygrandfather. Enough to promote him and keep him lurking around the palace.
The captain gives me a poisonous smile and bows before turning on his heel and stalking away.
“That poor man obviously still has no friends,” Alastor says thoughtfully. “Otherwise, someone would’ve told him by now how utterly ridiculous that mustache looks.”
Most of my unit snicker, no more fans of Velrir than I am, but I’m too tense to join in the fun.
“Come on,” I say. “Let’s get this over with.”
“Should I be worried?” Ana asks, and I hesitate before I answer.
“My grandfather has been allies with your family for many years. And he won’t like your aunt’s collaboration with the Temple, so he’ll be on your side as far as that goes. But just be careful. Remember that he’s clever, and not above using his sensic power when it suits him. He can make you feel paranoid, like everyone’s against you. And he always has Filusia’s interests at heart, above all else.”
She nods, her face taking on that wonderfully determined expression she gets, the one that convinces me she could achieve anything she wanted.
Naturally, my grandfather is in the throne room—the best place to emphasize his power. His huge golden seat surrounds him like a ring of light, the top flaring outward on either side into big prongs that always reminded me of wings. He settles his hands on the end of each arm as we enter, his long silver hair brushing against his robes of deep ocher.
“Your Majesty,” I say, bowing. He’ll tolerate me calling him grandfather, but I know he prefers the formality. “Allow me to introduce Her Highness, Princess Morgana Angevire of Trova.”
Ana curtseys and looks as if she might speak, but my grandfather beats her to it.
“At last.” He beckons us forward. “I was beginning to wonder if you’d fallen into that lake.”
Despite his age, his voice is as strong as ever, sharp and tough as steel.
“We were visiting Fairon,” I say.
“I know.” His eyes flick over to Ana, and I feel a sudden urge to step in front of her, shielding her from that pointed gaze. “Much has changed since your trip to Trova. I wish circumstances were better all around.”
He leans forward, fixing me with an intense stare from his pale blue eyes. “For instance, the fact that your diplomatic mission couldn’t have been more of a disaster.”
“I was pitted against circumstances beyond my control, Your Majesty,” I say. There’s no point trying to guess what he wants to hear; that was always more Fairon’s skill.
Is. I correct myself mentally.It isFairon’s skill.
But that’s never been how it works between Respen and me. Instead, I always frustrate him, which usually provokes some kind of dressing down. I listen, letting his tirades wash over me, and then go back to whatever trouble I was making in the first place. Maybe it’s not the healthiest arrangement, but it’s been the way our relationship has functioned for the last hundred years.
“Beyond your control?” my grandfather says. “You’re stronger than that weak excuse, Leonidas. Though I suppose I am partially to blame.Isent you there, after all. The fact that you left having generatedmoreconflict, not less, with our neighbors is just an inescapable product of your nature.”
I dip my head slightly, glad that he’s at least acknowledging his mistake. He should’ve never sent a soldier to do a diplomat’s job. His constant attempts to shape me into Fairon’s replacement will always fail, not least because Fairon isn’t going toneeda replacement. Not if I have any say.
“However, I’m of course pleased to see Princess Morgana safe and well.” He lifts a wizened hand to gesture to Ana. “I must offer my deepest condolences, princess, for the loss of your parents. They were great allies to us during your mother’s reign.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty,” she says, lifting her chin to look my grandfather in the eye. “I feel compelled to tell you that we have reason to believe my aunt, Lady Oclanna, assassinated my parents and tried to do the same to me. When she failed, thanks to the efforts of Prince Leonidas, she instead attempted to frame me for their murders, along with your grandson. I’m grateful for the prince’s protection since then, and that our allies in Filusia can, through him, know the truth of what really happened.”
My grandfather can be intimidating at the best of times, but I’m pleased that there’s no trace of nervousness in Ana’s voice.
“Indeed, that is very distressing news, Princess Morgana,” Grandfather says. I wonder how much of this he already knows from his spies. From the way his gaze shifts over to me, probing, I suspect he still has some gaps in his knowledge, and that gnaws at him.
But giving him more pieces of the puzzle might be the way to turn this thing in our favor. I don’t trust him to care about Ana’s interests, but Idotrust him to care about his own. If we play this right, we can show him that the mission to Trova has been far from a total loss, and that Ana’s presence here is a boon.
“Yes, it is distressing,” I agree. “Except good has come of this too. Princess Morgana made a discovery after she was forced to flee Elmere. She is a solari—and a very special one indeed.”
I feel Ana turn her head sharply toward me. She didn’t know I was going to tell him this, but I’m sure this is the best way forward. Respen will have no choice but to see Ana’s value once he realizes she’s our best chance at saving Fairon.
Fairon, the heir upon whom all Respen’s hopes had been piled. When he became sick, it hit home for all of us that his death would mean the kingdom would be left with me—the brute without tact or a knack for the kind of quiet plotting a king needs. Naturally, Respen would jump at the chance to get Fairon back.
My grandfather examines Ana, assessing what this information means.
